Rkidz's Japan Travel Blog - Day 11: Going to Osaka

Day 11.
Osaka; amazing castle and bright, bustling city.



Osaka is a beautiful city. While I don't really have much time to spend here because of time constraint (Osaka is much further than Kyoto after all), the visit here was really memorable. Osaka is Japan's second largest metropolitan area after Tokyo. The first place I went to after arrived here is the Osaka castle itself; the tallest castle in all of Japan. I barely made it in time just before mid-evening. Once I've arrived, was flabbergasted at the beautiful architecture of the huge castle. It is a modern castle; rebuilt back in the modern era. The castle tower is surrounded by secondary citadels, gates, turrets, impressive stone walls and moats. Entrance fee to go inside the castle tower is 600 yen. Inside, there is museum displaying histories of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a feudal lord who united Japan. I even found some Malaysian tourist visiting the castle. The view on top of the tower itself was really astounding. You can see the Osaka city centre from up here while pretending to be a feudal lord gazing at his own kingdom. It was a great place to visit.

Later on in the evening, I went to Minami (Namba) and Dotonburi. Located around Namba Station, Minami is one of Osaka's two major city centers. It is the city's most famous entertainment district and offers abundant dining and shopping choices with bright colourful billboards all over the places. It is an amazing sight, and the city felt really lively. There were large shopping arcade with a lots of people browsing through each shops. The best time to go here is definitely during the night when the street is lit by hundreds of neon lights and mechanized signs, including the famous Glico Running Man sign and Kani Doraku crab sign. I managed to go to an Indian restaurant eating a very delicious naan and tandoori chicken before finally going back to Tokyo. I wish I could explore more of Osaka, but maybe later in the future when I have more time to do so. It was still a memorable experience overall.

Next stop, Odawara, Hakone, Fuji-san.